Guest Opinion Policy

Pentagon orders bringing back civilians could help Colorado military

Lawmakers come and go from the U.S. Capitol's House of Representatives during a vote for back pay for government workers, who have been furloughed, during the government shutdown in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013. With the partial shutdown entering its fifth day, the GOP-run House passed a bill Saturday that would make sure the furloughed workers get paid for not working. (J. Scott Applewhite, The Associated Press)

Thousands of civilian workers attached to military functions in Colorado could be back at work this week when the Pentagon carries out orders issued Saturday for them to come back from furlough.

The Pentagon is bringing back to work at least 90 percent of the estimated 350,000 defense civilian employees nationwide who were furloughed in the partial government shutdown. The move takes a big bite out of the impact of the impasse in Washington that has left the government without a budget.

Some members of Colorado's congressional delegation have slammed the military for not bringing the workers back sooner despite bills exempting them from the federal shutdown.

The decision announced Saturday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is based on a Pentagon interpretation of a law called the Pay Our Military Act.

President Barack Obama signed the measure last week that said active duty, civilian personnel and contractors would not be affected by the partial government shutdown, which began Tuesday.

Hagel said that while federal lawyers interpreted the law to mean not all civilian employees could come back to work, many support workers who contribute to military "well-being" and "readiness" could return.

Hagel said he has told Pentagon officials to "identify all employees whose activities fall under these categories." He said civilian workers should stand by for further word this weekend.

Advertisement

Robert Hale, the Pentagon's budget chief, said he did not yet know the exact number of civilians who would be brought back to work but that it would be "90 percent plus." He said there are about 350,000 civilians on furlough, fewer than the 400,000 that officials had previously indicated. If 90 percent were recalled, that would mean 315,000 coming off furlough.

Effect in Colorado

A veteran takes a photo of the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. Honor Flight veterans continue to make pilgrimages to Washington war memorials despite the government shutdown. (Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images)

The offices of Colorado Reps. Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn on Thursday said the 10,000 furloughed Colorado-based workers include 3,110 civilians at Fort Carson and 2,241 civilians at Buckley Air Force Base.

The Pay Our Military Act, sponsored by Coffman, passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

"The legislation purposely casts as wide a net as possible to ensure that Department of Defense civilian personnel, all of which are necessary to sustain military operations, can report to work," Coffman wrote to Hagel in a letter.

"We thought with the president having signed it, it shouldn't be an issue, but, for whatever reason, it's not happening," said Lamborn, whose district is reeling from the shutdown because of all the military installations. "My district is being hit very hard. I want people to be reassured."

An Army spokesman at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs said about 1,000 civilian employees there had been affected by the initial shutdown. About 1,500 others were exempted from the furloughs because they are involved in essential deployment or returning-soldier functions.

The base is not sure yet how many of those 1,000 remaining idled civilians would be affected by Hagel's new orders, said Maj. Earl Brown.

House OKs back pay

Also Saturday, the House unanimously agreed to provide back pay for furloughed workers, but showed no sign of ending the larger impasse that has forced much of the government to shut down.

House Speaker John Boehner, asked Saturday whether Congress was any closer to resolving the impasse, replied: "No." Aides close to Boehner said he has not figured out how to end the gridlock.

The back-pay bill now goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Saturday the Democratic-controlled chamber will approve the retroactive pay, although he didn't specify when.

The White House has signaled that it will not veto the bill, but Democrats have largely rejected the Republican strategy of trying to reopen selective parts of government, insisting they will accept only full funding of government operations.

The current crisis began as an attempt by Tea Party Republicans to stop implementation of the Affordable Care Act by withholding funding for the rest of government operations.

But the budget battle has shifted to a broader debate over the size and scope of government. Some Republicans are seeking a deal to cut Medicare, Social Security and other federal programs in exchange for funding the government and raising the nation's debt limit by Oct. 17, the deadline for a potential financial default.

Local duo joining overseas exhibition excursionFilippo Swartz went to Italy, where his mother was born and he spent the first year or so of his life, every summer until he had to stick around to be a part of summer football activities for the Longmont High School team. Full Story

MacIntyre says the completed project will be best in Pac-12There were bulldozers, hard hats, mud, concrete trucks, blueprints, mud, cranes, lots of noise and, uh, mud, during the last recruiting cycle when Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre brought recruits to campus. Full Story

Most people don't play guitar like Grayson Erhard does. That's because most people can't play guitar like he does. The guitarist for Fort Collins' Aspen Hourglass often uses a difficult two-hands-on-the-fretboard technique that Eddie Van Halen first popularized but which players such as Erhard have developed beyond pop-rock vulgarity.
Full Story